“Zorin?”
Ripley saw the red liquid shining and swirling within the syringe.
“Zorin.”
He saw the other boy crawling towards him, bleeding out from all the wounds he’d sustained from the fight with Paris.
"Zorin- Zorin, no. No! Don't! Zorin!"
He saw what Zorin was doing, and he wanted to get away. He wanted to tell Zorin to save himself. He wanted to stand up and run somewhere where he could hide and die before Zorin found him. He wanted to reach his arms out and struggle, forcefully injecting the syringe into Zorin if he was so adamant about giving it to Ripley.
But- but nothing went forward, so the syringe embedded itself deep into Ripley's body.
And he still couldn’t do anything but watch as Zorin saved his life.
Look At You, Hacker
shits happening
Moderator: SOTF: Cyber Staff
-
MonteCristo
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
“Listen to me.”
His work was done. He could rest now.
“All you have to do to beat this game, is to break it. Duping, physics glitching, screw it, lagging out the connection, doesn’t matter. In the end, this shit is a game. Treat it like one. You don’t have to play by their rules.”
Zorin smiled.
“What’s the worst they can do? Ban you?”
His grip weakened on Ripley.
“You got this. I didn’t. That’s why you go, I stay.”
Zorin used the last of his strength to roll onto his back.
“Crash this program, and you’ll save our class. Don’t let anyone try to stop you. Not Zeph, not some fucking cyber ninjas, nobody.
Just remember you’re not alone, and if you can’t do it in the end, there’s someone who can, and it’ll be your job to take them where they need to be.”
Zorin took a deep breath.
“No shame in passing the torch. If I could’ve stayed; you know-“
His eyes glazed over.
Zorin Boddicker-DECEASED
His work was done. He could rest now.
“All you have to do to beat this game, is to break it. Duping, physics glitching, screw it, lagging out the connection, doesn’t matter. In the end, this shit is a game. Treat it like one. You don’t have to play by their rules.”
Zorin smiled.
“What’s the worst they can do? Ban you?”
His grip weakened on Ripley.
“You got this. I didn’t. That’s why you go, I stay.”
Zorin used the last of his strength to roll onto his back.
“Crash this program, and you’ll save our class. Don’t let anyone try to stop you. Not Zeph, not some fucking cyber ninjas, nobody.
Just remember you’re not alone, and if you can’t do it in the end, there’s someone who can, and it’ll be your job to take them where they need to be.”
Zorin took a deep breath.
“No shame in passing the torch. If I could’ve stayed; you know-“
His eyes glazed over.
Zorin Boddicker-DECEASED
Catche thinks my squirrel is Fisk so here's my daily reminder that he is not.
-
MonteCristo
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
As soon as Zorin opened his mouth, Ripley shut up. No use protesting now; the contents of the syringe were already circulating through Ripley’s broken body. Knowing Zorin had only so much time left, Ripley listened.
Break the game. Crash the system. Save the class.
Worst comes to worst, entrust it to someone else.
With those words, Zorin breathed his last.
Break the game. Crash the system. Save the class.
Worst comes to worst, entrust it to someone else.
With those words, Zorin breathed his last.
-
MonteCristo
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
Something burned within Ripley. It blazed through his wounds, melting away the numbness he had almost surrendered to. His side and left shoulder were alight with agony, as if molten metal was pouring into his body, pumping new blood through his veins, shifting his organs into their proper place, fusing his muscles back together, coating it with a new layer of skin, forging him into someone strong enough to bear the weight of Zorin’s charge.
At last, Ripley could move his arm. He used it to push against the ground, lifting himself from the pool of his own blood. Ripley stood up and found his left half—jacket, shirt, face, hair, and more—drenched in scarlet. With how much he’d bled out, Ripley should’ve been dead. Yet his heart now beat with renewed vitality.
Ripley didn’t just feel alright. He felt alive. His hand moved to the bandages on his left arm. His fingers traced where every laceration should have been, but there were no signs of injury, no sudden jolts of pain. He slipped his fingers under the gauze wrap warily and undid it. Not a single scar remained.
The gauze fluttered down and landed near Zorin’s body, and Ripley observed him. In the few minutes they’d known each other, Zorin had proven himself smart, capable, rational, and, above all else, heroic. He was someone Ripley would’ve supported without question had they been allies from the start.
But they weren’t. And now, Zorin lay dead at Ripley’s feet.
There were a million regrets and doubts Ripley could have dwelt on, but they all would have spat on Zorin’s sacrifice. He knew what he was doing. He could’ve chosen to save himself. Yet he’d put his faith in Ripley, so much so that he staked his life on it. Nothing Ripley did or thought could change that.
So he had to keep pushing forward.
At last, Ripley could move his arm. He used it to push against the ground, lifting himself from the pool of his own blood. Ripley stood up and found his left half—jacket, shirt, face, hair, and more—drenched in scarlet. With how much he’d bled out, Ripley should’ve been dead. Yet his heart now beat with renewed vitality.
Ripley didn’t just feel alright. He felt alive. His hand moved to the bandages on his left arm. His fingers traced where every laceration should have been, but there were no signs of injury, no sudden jolts of pain. He slipped his fingers under the gauze wrap warily and undid it. Not a single scar remained.
The gauze fluttered down and landed near Zorin’s body, and Ripley observed him. In the few minutes they’d known each other, Zorin had proven himself smart, capable, rational, and, above all else, heroic. He was someone Ripley would’ve supported without question had they been allies from the start.
But they weren’t. And now, Zorin lay dead at Ripley’s feet.
There were a million regrets and doubts Ripley could have dwelt on, but they all would have spat on Zorin’s sacrifice. He knew what he was doing. He could’ve chosen to save himself. Yet he’d put his faith in Ripley, so much so that he staked his life on it. Nothing Ripley did or thought could change that.
So he had to keep pushing forward.
-
MonteCristo
- Posts: 75
- Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 am
…But there was something he needed to do first. If he didn’t, he would never move on.
Ripley dropped to his knees and clutched Zorin’s jacket. The burning sensation reached his face and began to spill out, falling on Zorin and soaking his clothes. Ripley trembled. His eyes blurred. His breath faltered. Muffled cries gave way to violent grief, and he opened his mouth to mourn.
He mourned the man who lay dead on the floor.
He mourned the leader who he could no longer follow.
He mourned the one who fought the game until the very end.
He mourned the boy who would never wake up.
Fierce, relentless, and incoherent sobs were Zorin’s requiem.
((Ripley continued in New Game+.))
Ripley dropped to his knees and clutched Zorin’s jacket. The burning sensation reached his face and began to spill out, falling on Zorin and soaking his clothes. Ripley trembled. His eyes blurred. His breath faltered. Muffled cries gave way to violent grief, and he opened his mouth to mourn.
He mourned the man who lay dead on the floor.
He mourned the leader who he could no longer follow.
He mourned the one who fought the game until the very end.
He mourned the boy who would never wake up.
Fierce, relentless, and incoherent sobs were Zorin’s requiem.
((Ripley continued in New Game+.))